§ 29. Mr. H. Johnsonasked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the Truleigh Hill booster is giving very poor television reception in Brighton and district because the output has been so heavily reduced; and what action he intends to take to ensure that reception is again adequate.
§ Mr. GammansI cannot at present add much to what I said in the Adjournment debate on 16th November. North Hessary Tor has been only just opened. I understand from the British Broadcasting Corporation that the Corporation is conducting tests, but it is too early to say whether it will be possible to increase the power of Truleigh Hill without causing interference with North Hessary Tor.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs my hon. Friend aware that the best technical advice is that there never was the slightest need for this heavy cut in output, that it was done by the B.B.C. out of sheer spitefulness, that it was a breach of Clause 4 (1) of the B.B.C. licence? Will my hon. Friend consult the Law Officers of the Crown with a view to recommending revocation under Section 23 (2) of the B.B.C.'s Charter?
Mr. GammonsI do not think my hon. Friend ought to say that it is due to the spitefulness of the B.B.C. After all, the B.B.C. is under the same obligations to serve the people who pay for licences as anyone else would be under those circumstances. What the B.B.C. proposes to do is to see to what extent it is possible to fix the power of Truleigh Hill without messing up an area in Dorset served by North Hessary Tor.
§ Mr. JohnsonMy hon. Friend seems to have overlooked the fact that people in the Brighton area are existing licence fee-payers and are therefore entitled to a 2748 service which they are not getting from the B.B.C.
§ Mr. GammansI think my hon. Friend had better suggest to his constituents that they should wait until the B.B.C. has completed all its experiments so as to get the very best service they can until such time as the Rowridge Station in the Isle of Wight—which is to serve them permanently—is working at full power.